With Winter fast approaching and temperatures due to drop over the next few weeks, cold air can trigger the symptoms of Asthma. Smoke from bonfires and wood burners also increases during the winter months, causing irritation to a person’s airways, triggering the symptoms of Asthma.

It is important to be able to identify the signs and symptoms of Asthma in Winter, and to know how to treat an Asthma Attack. 

It is drawing close to that time of year where the heating turns on, we eat warming winter soup and enjoy bonfires, sparklers and fireworkers. It is also the time where the number of calls to the 999 and 112 service for burns increases. We thought we would take a moment to remind ourselves what we should do in a medical emegergency involving a burn.

If the first aid cover for your business is reduced because of COVID-19 or you can’t access the first aid training which you need, there are some things you can do to ensure that you still comply with the law.

The requirements of the EYFS on Paediatric First Aid certification have now been changed and the EYFS: coronavirus disapplications guidance has been published explaining what the new changes mean.

The way we deal with a medical emergency has now changed, keeping ourselves and the people we treat safe has always been top of the emergency action plan, but we now have to consider the risk of covid-19 and how we will manage this risk when treating our patients. 

Our commitment to providing Social Distant First Aid Training at our Surrey First Aid Training venue
 
Training Room set up: 

• Delegates will be seated at least 2 metres apart at all times 

• Our class sizes will hold a maximum of 12 delegates per course 

• Our training room is large, well ventilated and has access to a large outside space

• Learning will take place outside, depending on weather (all delegates will need to ensure they are wearing/bring warm clothing)

The Resuscitation Council UK have released an updated statement on COVID-19 in relation to CPR and resuscitation in first aid and community settings. The statement is for anyone who is performing CPR/defibrillation in an out-of-hospital setting.

With it being National Epilepsy Week on 18th to 24th May 2020, we thought it was important to share these Seizure First Aid steps from the Epilepsy Foundation, which show what to do in the event of a seizure.  

While we are not currently running our courses, we are planning to resume running our courses as of the 27th of June.

We understand there might be some uncertainty around attending a training course in future due to COVID19, however we would like to reassure you that we will be doing everything possible to ensure our courses are as safe as possible to attend.

Taking a first aid course online might seem like a good solution to meet your first aid training requirements during the Coronavirus pandemic. However, it is important to know that these types of courses do not meet the requirements of the HSE (Health and Safety Executive) and could cause you problems later.

Even with the current Coronavirus pandemic First Aid still remains a vital skill and it is extremely important to continue providing treatment to those who are in an emergency situation. However, many people have become less comfortable when it comes to helping others in an emergency, as they are concerned about the physical contact involved and the current risk of infection.

Are you wondering about how the Coronavirus might affect your first aid course? Please keep reading our important information to find out more.....

This year we celebrate our 20th Birthday, it has been 20 years since we were given a HSE licence to deliver regulated first aid courses. As part of a series on the history of first aid, our latest article looks at the history of the first aid box. 

Mental Health First Aid Courses

This year has certainly been a challenge to our workplaces. With so much change and the fear of returning to the workplace after lockdown, it is not surprising there is an increase in the number of employees facing mental health concerns. 

Sickle Cell Disease SCD is a subject we teach on all our first aid courses. Some students will have heard of it and some have even dealt with a Sickle Cell emergency, with cold weather being a trigger for an emergency situation, known as a Crisis, we wanted to provide some up to date information on this life threatening disease. 

With Just 6 more Fridays till Christmas and National Stress Awareness Week 

We wanted to show our support for National Stress Awareness Week and highlight stress in the workplace. 

1. What is the Health and Safety Executive definition of Stress in the workplace?

 "The adverse reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demand placed on them at work."

An amazing piece of software has been created for an emergency situation, that EVERYONE needs to know about!

It finds out where you are using the App and a Map, thereby assisting the ambulance service can find you.

It's call "What3words" and we are delighted to give you the story behind it.

This week the ambulance service was linked to an amazing new app, where anyone who is close to an incident or medical emergency and registered can attend the emergency. It is called GoodSam, the programme is desgined to get help on scene as quickly as possible, it also supports government set response target time and more importantly will help increase survival rates.

Its always been illegal to pitch a tent up in the UK countryside, although camping has always been a great way of getting closer to nature, going to designated camp sites can have its draw backs such as noise. A new campaigne has started to get give people the opportunity to camp anywhere in our national parks and beauty spots.

Non food products such as arts and crafts will always present the hidden risk in nurseries and childcare settings. For example did you know tempura paint contains eggs?

Kawasaki disease is named after Dr. Tomisaku Kawasaki, a Japanese doctor who identified the condition in 1967. It is not known what causes Kawasaki disease but may be a combination of a virus and genes together.

Kawasaki disease causes a high fever, enlarged lymph glands and swollen blood vessels, and can also cause damage to the heart. Kawasaki disease affects more boys than girls and is usually found in children under five years of age. Because of this, the condition has become the leading cause of acquired heart disease (heart disease that develops after birth) in the UK.

With media campaigns, charities and even our favourite TV programmes focusing on Sepsis, there is without doubt a much better understanding of how to reconginse Sepsis. Once in the ambulance control room it woud be my job to listen to a sick person and look for the signs which indicate someone is developing Sepsis, now a day though, callers tell me they think they have 'Sepsis' and I am able to act quickly on their behalf to get them to treatment they need.

As we reflect upon the coroner report of the death of 13 year old in a school, we thought we would share some useful information and guidance on how to recognise breathing difficuties in babies and small children.

When any incident happens in a remote environment, a first aider will encounter a very different experience to those in the city. In the city, telephones, ambulances and advance on medical help are only minutes away. In the mountain, just getting a telephone signal to call for help could require hours of difficult travel, not to mention the time it can take for a rescue party to reach a trailhead after the authorities have been contacted.

This months newsletter focuses on Sepsis. 

We are also pleased to share news on our new venues, information sheets on stab wound first aid and mental health first aid. 

Mental Health First Aider training - what is it all about?

The Health and Safety Executive recommends all workplaces appoint a Mental Health First Aider. Mental health illness is the 3rd most common illness at work after back pain and lung disease; yet the traditional workplace first aid course does not include any type of training on mental health.

We are pleased to have arranged a 2 hour parent first aid course in our Guildford Training Rooms on the 11th June 2019 from 10 am till 12.00 noon.

The Department of Education has recently adviced that CPR and Life Saving skills we become a compulsory subject on the school curriculum from 2020.

Over the month of March we conducting our own research project to see how schools will integrate this change. The results proved very interesting. Thank you to the schools who took time to complete our research.

As we approach the Easter Holidays and yummy chocolate treats, we share the tradagy of 5 year old Sophie who choked to death on a mini egg.

We are pleased to report Summer now has a date for her surgery. 

Her mum Michelle shares her experience with us. 

We are pleased to launch two new venues for our Paediatric Public Courses.

HSE Latest Information

After several recent incidents in which two cases have resulted in death and the other, serious injury to multiple persons.  The HSE have reviewed and issued guidelines on the puchasing or hire of inflatables.

Choking is a common accident, do you know what to do?

Last summer 10-month-old Benjamin Philip Masters died after a visit to the zoo in Alfriston went devastatingly wrong. Read more to find out about what happened...

Treating a burn at home

I put my one-year-old down on the floor as I stepped in the house, like a moth to a lamp, she headed straight for the gurgling radiator and then, scream! 

Please click on the following link to download our Paediatric Winter Newsletter 2018

Restart A Heart Day (16 October 2018) – FREE basic CPR training for schools in Kent, Surrey and Sussex!

Anyone can save a life, and that includes the average bystander who happens upon someone suffering a cardiac arrest in the middle of the high street. If that bystander has learnt CPR, the person’s chances of survival are doubled!

Important documents published by various sources that we recommend for download.

Important documents published by HSE that we recommend for all Employers to read

HSE First Aid at Work Guidance Update!

HSE have recently amended their first aid at work guidance. We list the key changes for you and provide handy links to all the updated HSE documents.

If you are witness to an acid attack, would you know what to do? Read our advice!

Did you know that the UK Resuscitation Council has developed and published evidence-based guidelines which set out the interventions and practices that are most likely to achieve successful resuscitation from cardiac arrest?

Placing unconscious infants and children in the recovery position has been proven in studies to increase their recovery over more radical manoeuvres in an effort to restore consciousness.

How to treat an unconscious infant (under 1 Year)

Diabetes is a condition where blood sugar levels cannot be controlled by the body. 

There are two types of diabetic episode:

Citizen AID has launched a new public information video to show how ordinary people can deliver life-saving first aid to the injured members of the public around them following an explosion.

Did you know about ICE?

In case of emergency (ICE) is a program that enables first responders, such as paramedics, firefighters, and police officers, as well as hospital personnel, to contact the next of kin of the owner of a mobile phone to obtain important medical or support information (the phone must be unlocked and working). 

The latest EYFS document published in March 2017 (page 27) includes a link to guidance published by Public Health England specifically for schools and childcare settings on infection control for various conditions (including conjunctivitis) which sets out when and for how long children need to be excluded, when treatment/medication is required and where to get further advice. 

Are you in the construction industry and wondering what your first aid requirements are for your workers and site?

Want to know what to put in a first aid kit for babies? Let us tell you!

The Lullaby Trust provides emotional support for bereaved families, promotes expert advice on safer baby sleep and raises awareness of sudden infant death.

The new First Aid guidelines state that in wound management it is no longer recognised that the elevation of a wound assists in stopping bleeding. 

Our advice on treating a baby or child with a suspected head injury

The NICE guidelines do not state that a cold compress in the form of an ice pack should be applied to a head injury.